What we learned from the 2024 WorldSBK season-opener

Nicolo Bulega delivered on his impressive pre-season form by dominating Race 1 of the WorldSBK season, before Alex Lowes completed a stunning Sunday double.

But what were the biggest takeaways from round 1?

• Alvaro Bautista still betting ‘on the same three riders’ as last year 

• Yamaha confident Andrea Locatelli can fight for titles; ‘he’s thinking like a winner’

‘Titanic trio’ on the backfoot as WorldSBK becomes more competitive than ever

Alvaro Bautista got his title defence off to a wobbly start as he crashed in Race 1 before a double top five, including second place in Race 2, saw him bounce back.

But after a difficult pre-season, seeing Bautista go winless at a circuit he has dominated during his time with Ducati in WorldSBK, was a surprise.

For Toprak Razgatlioglu, a strong debut in Race 1 with BMW was improved upon further when he claimed third in the Superpole Race.

But in Race 2 while running in the lead group, the Turkish star ran into mechanical issues which led to a first non-score this season.

Catalunya could see Bautista return to the top of the field, while at BMW rear grip preservation will be key to determining what Razgatlioglu can achieve.

In need of an even bigger bounce-back weekend is Jonathan Rea, as the Yamaha rider failed to score a single point in Australia.

A lack of pace, followed by a pit stop issue led to Rea finishing 17th in Race 1. Tenth in the Superpole Race meant he missed out on a point by one position, before a nasty crash in Race 2 brought an end to his miserable weekend.

Rea’s issues aboard the R1 began surfacing at Portimao, before the Phillip Island test and race weekend went from bad to worse.

Rookies deliver big down under

Bulega’s Race 1 triumph was nothing short of sensational as he led prior to the pit stop sequence. When exciting the pits, Bulega got even stronger as he created a lead  of over three seconds.

Managing the gap from that point forward, BUlega became the first WorldSSP champion to win a WorldSBK race on his debut.

But it wasn’t all about Bulega as former MotoGP star Andrea Iannone was also very impressive.

Third in Race 1, Iannone was within a whisker of grabbing another podium in Race 2 after battling with Danilo Petrucci in the closing stages.

Iannone ran into mechanical issues in the Superpole Race which cost him another good result, but the speed was there as he claimed from P14 to fourth in Race 2.

Both riders showed that they’re pre-season form was no fluke and that they are here to stay when it comes to challenging at the front of WorldSBK.

Keen to join them is Sam Lowes who was also impressive, despite not having the eye-catching results that Bulega and Iannone managed.

Alex Lowes can be a title threat 

Although he’s always been strong at Phillip Island, the type of performance shown by Lowes was of someone ready to become a title threat.

Able to beat Bautista in a one-on-one fight, something not many riders have achieved since 2022, Lowes picked off the Ducati rider on the final lap to claim his second win in four years.

In the Superpole Race, Lowes was equally impressive as he came home victorious ahead of Andrea Locatelli.

Showing that type of form at other race tracks will determine whether Lowes can become a serious challenger, but now the team leader at Kawasaki, the new role seems to be allowing Lowes to get the best out of himself.

Is BMW for real or is Razgatlioglu making all the difference?

While their performance in testing was promising across all four riders, round one was all about Razgatlioglu as Michael Van Der Mark, Garrett Gerloff and Scott Redding weren’t near the front.

Van Der Mark did have good race pace, but a poor qualifying resulted in him losing out on better results.

Razgatlioglu’s DNF in Race 2 means Van Der Mark and Gerloff are only two and three points off him, respectively, but it’s clear that Razgatlioglu held a pace advantage over the rest of BMW’s riders, which will be a slight concern for the German manufacturer.